13p council care bill 'an insult' to our dead mum

Sisters Trudy Fowler and Trina Parkin are furious that Derby City Council sent their mother, Winifred Coulson, inset, an invoice for 13p nine days after she died. Far left, the bill sent by the authority.

TWO sisters have slammed Derby City Council for sending their late 92-year-old mother an invoice demanding she pay a 1p-a-week debt "immediately".

The council sent pensioner Winifred Coulson the bill nine days after she died – for a care service she was told was free.

Stamped in bold, capital letters across the invoice – which says Mrs Coulson owed 13p for receiving a care link service for 13 weeks – were the words: "PAYMENT DUE IMMEDIATELY".

The invoice went as far as outlining seven ways Mrs Coulson, who lived in Max Road, Chaddesden, could pay the 13p sum – including by post or standing order.

Daughters Trina Parkin, 67, and Trudy Fowler, 58, called it an "insult" to their late mother and are refusing to pay the bill on her behalf.

Mrs Parkin, a retired nurse, said: "The 13p charge is less than what it cost the council to post the letter.

"It's a ludicrous invoice."

Mrs Parkin said a Care Link remote monitoring system was installed by the council after Mrs Coulson became increasingly frail. It sets off an alarm when it detects no movement for a significant period of time.

But the family decided after a few weeks it was of little help because Mrs Coulson was largely bed-ridden anyway, and it was removed.

Mrs Parkin said: "It says she received the service for 13 weeks from October 24 to October 25.

"Anyone with a brain will tell you there is one day between those two dates – not 13 weeks.

"Added to that, our mother didn't even have the service for as long as 13 weeks because we decided in the end that she didn't need it.

"And we were told she was eligible to have it for free, so she shouldn't have been sent an invoice at all."

Mrs Parkin, of Spondon, added: "When I think of how many thousands of pounds we have saved the council by keeping our mother in her own home rather than put her in a care home, it makes me furious to think they are chasing her for 13p, even if she did owe it."

Asked whether she was tempted to pay the 13p to bring the matter to a close, Mrs Parkin said: "We're not paying it out of principle. The council can take us to court."

Mrs Fowler, who works at the Royal Derby Hospital as a nurse, added: "I don't think it even warrants a response. Right now I don't have the emotional energy to even ring up the council and complain about it.

"Why would anyone with a brain stamp that invoice and send it out?"

Incredibly, it is the second time the council has mistakenly sent out a wrong invoice to Mrs Coulson, who had dementia and died at the Royal Derby Hospital on December 1.

Mrs Fowler, who lives at Willington Marina, explained. "An invoice was sent to my mother in October, while she was alive, saying she owed £31.05 for being connected to the service for a nine-week period.

"We rang the council up and it said it had been sent by mistake as the service was free to my mother, and that we could ignore it."

Councillor Fareed Hussain, cabinet member for adults and health at Derby City Council, said the authority has now apologised to Mrs Coulson's family.

He said: "This letter was sent because of accounting error.

"Mrs Coulson was receiving a free service and should not have been sent a bill.

"Council officers are investigating the reasons for this mistake and will ensure it is not repeated.

"The council has now given a full apology to Mrs Fowler and her family for the distress that the letter caused".

My Mum (RIP) once had a debt collector come to collect money from my father for none payment of his payments for tray making materials for when he was at Kingway Hospital. My Mum gave them his new address. Nottingham Road Cemetry. He had died a few years before. The collector tried to get my Mum to pay some off it. Luckily she didn't otherwise she would have taken on the debt and had all of it to pay.

Given that the letter was probably sent by 'the computer' (without being even seen by human eyes), I'm far from surprised by this - what we should really be concerned about is Councillor Hussain's comment that this was due to an accounting error - how many other vulnerable people have been sent similar letters 'by mistake'? - and how many have paid them without checking whether they really owed anything?

While the councils actions are clearly wrong, and lack any sense what so ever and I would do the same in the sisters position, I am amused by this comment -
"Right now I don't have the emotional energy to even ring up the council and complain about it."
Because contacting the newspaper and being interviewed at length uses less energy?!?

That is what happens when one person has to do the job of 3, see the other article where a woman working in the same department sent an email to hundreds.
It shouldn't have been sent at all and makes me wonder how many others are sent out where the postage is higher than the bill.

The council at its best! How much does it cost to raise an invoice, how much does it cost for the paper and envelope, how much for the postage! How much does it cost to process the payment, how much does it cost in bank charges to clear the payment! these baffons have got to save how many millions over the years!
Brewery and P155 up springs to mind!